Will AI replace Physical Scientists, All Other?

What this score means

Physical Scientists, All Other leans toward the safer end for Research & Science. Parts of the role touch tasks AI is getting good at, but the core still depends on hands on work or judgment that resists automation. At 31 out of 100 it scores 8 points below the Research & Science average of 39. Across the 3 sources behind this baseline, individual estimates run from 14 to 47, so the score is a weighted consensus rather than any single figure.

The number is a consensus estimate for the typical version of the role, built from published academic and industry research scored occupation by occupation. It is not a prediction about any individual. How scoring works

The research behind this score

This baseline aggregates 3 research sources that scored Physical Scientists, All Other for AI and automation exposure. More recent, higher confidence studies carry more weight in the final number.

• 01Anthropic Economic Index 2026 - AI Task Exposure · 2026Anthropic
• 02Working with AI: Measuring the Applicability of Generative AI to Occupations · 2025Tomlinson, Jaffe et al., Microsoft Research (2025)
• 03AI Occupational Exposure to Language Modeling · 2023Felten, Raj, Seamans (2023)

Common questions

How likely is AI to replace Physical Scientists, All Other?

Published research puts Physical Scientists, All Other at 31 out of 100 for AI displacement risk, in the lower risk band. The number is a weighted consensus of 3 research sources and describes the typical version of the role, not any individual.

Do researchers agree on the risk for Physical Scientists, All Other?

Only partly. Individual estimates for Physical Scientists, All Other run from 14 to 47 out of 100 across the 3 sources behind this score, so the single number smooths over real disagreement. More recent and higher confidence studies carry more weight in it.

Which research & science roles face similar AI exposure?

The closest published research & science roles to Physical Scientists, All Other by score are Clinical Neuropsychologists (31/100), Neuropsychologists (31/100), and Conservation Scientists (32/100). Each has its own page with the research behind its number.

Also covers

Inventor · Physical Scientist · Research Scientist · Wood Technologist

More research & science occupations

• Biological Technicians34/100
• Conservation Scientists32/100
• Occupational Health and Safety Specialists32/100
• Clinical Neuropsychologists31/100
• Neuropsychologists31/100
• Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers30/100
• Nuclear Monitoring Technicians29/100
• Park Naturalists29/100